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Archive for June, 2007

The Swiss IABC chapter held its third networking and professional development evening in Geneva on June 25, generating positive feedback about the value of such events for communicators.

The evening began with an hour’s networking over drinks. Djan Yagtug then give an inspirational talk on the challenges of mergers and acquisitions for communicators, in particular when the outcome is that one’s own job disappears. Djan was until recently Head of Communications at pharmaceutical company Serono, which was taken over by Merck.

Djan talked about how to spot when an M&A is imminent for your company, how to deal with the inevitable long period of instability, and how to cope with the outcome. He also touched on the satisfactions of being in a senior communications role at a challenging time. Djan is now going on to set up his own company, Red Bench. The audience, which included IABC members and non-members, participated in the discussion through questions and offering their own experiences.

The Swiss chapter is now working on a programme of events for the autumn and welcomes suggestions. Post a comment here or email marcus at ferrar dot ch or lizwilson at imcp dot ch.

Mergers & Acquisitions are hot news. Every day there is another. How does a business communicator working for one of the companies involved tackle the challenge of communicating the deal?And how do you handle it if your own job gets “merged” out? How robust is the corporate market for communicators, and what are the pros and cons of going independent?

SPEAKER: Djan Yagtug, former Head of Corporate Communications for Serono, now Merck-Serono. Djan is today Managing Partner of Red Bench, specializing in people development, communications and issues management.

M & As may be coming your way. Learn from Djan how you deal with them.

For more information: email marcus@ferrar.ch. It would be helpful if you RSVP, but if you’re too busy, just come anyway! Looking forward to seeing you there!Marcus Ferrar, IABC co-President, Switzerland